GDP

GDP

Gross Domestic Product

A measure of the value of the total production in a country, usually in a given year. Gross domestic product is calculated by adding together total consumer spending, total government spending, total business spending, and the value of net exports. GDP is considered one of the leader indicators of the health of a nation's economy. GDP growth is considered desirable and represents the fact that businesses are producing and that consumers and the government are buying. It is often used as a way to measure a country's standard of living. See also: GNP.

Particularly when economists tout the benefits of increasing growth rate of GDP and other such economic indicators, we should try to decipher these numbers first before moving onto a blind celebration of such achievements and policy prescriptions.

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